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Okay, so most of you know how I feel about HOA's, I live in the coutnry. In honor of all of those who get flack from their HOA's for planting food in their front yard, or even place a flag or sign supporting their children serving in the Military, I share this. For those of us who have dug up grass and planted food, or placed tables on their lawns that help them feed themselves (and many neighbors) I also share this for you too. Or even just for those who need a good laugh, or even food for thought, or even a history lesson in why we have lawns and how they have become the status quo, grab a cold glass of your favorite drink, kick back and get a good laugh.

I found the link through a show I have started listening too while working in the garden. It's called The Survival Podcast, lots of gardening info, homesteading info, living off the grid info, and many other things.

I have to tell you, I used to live at the dead end of a RURAL area and I NEVER mowed that postage stamp they called a lawn and I NEVER water my lawn. Now that I live in a more 'civilized' area I cut my grass only when I have to and i still NEVER water. the only water that has come from that hose this year has been to water my garden or for the kids to play in the sprinkler. Now those are some acceptable uses

@NHGardener wrote:I love that lawn video! Really makes you think about the ethics of grasskeeping.

My back yard is 90% septic field and therefore I have to watch what I plant - no trees or big bushes, so I have a big expanse of "lawn". Veggies gardens are ok, but I went with tabletops because of my knees. The upshot is, my back yard of weeds looks just fine when kept mowed and I refuse to waste a drop of water on the "lawn". Same in the front but no septic field just well mowed weeds. And BBG, I hire somebody to do that.

Kay

Last edited by walshevak on 7/29/2011, 3:44 pm; edited 1 time in total

A septic field is part of an on-site sewage treatment process. Instead of your house sewer water disappearing into local government's pipes to be treated miles away at a waste water treatment facility, your house waste water goes into a septic tank, to let the solids settle, then the liquid overflow goes to (in its simplest form) a septic field where it drains into and through the natural soil and is 'cleaned' before it finds its way into underground water passages.

In recent years local health departments have become quite stringent about the draining abilities of existing soils. They've devised standards and tests to determine drainage abilities of on-site soils.

For example: they say my soil sucks. Therefore, I had to have 240 cubic yards of specially graded sand delivered to my place, to be put in a pile 6 feet tall and having a footprint of 30x110 feet. That is my 'drainfield'. The efflulent has to be pumped to the top of the sand pile in order to drain down through.

For similar reasons, our local ranchers have started fencing off their creeks and rivers to prevent cattle access. They are trying to cleanse the watersheds. Most of this is at the rancher's expense. However, if they have an endangered species in the river, they qualify for federal grant money.

The ranchers have to install their own water systems now for the cattle. It's kind of weird, and I'm not describing it well. I just read an article about it today. For any Missourians, the article is in this month's Missouri Conservation magazine......a must read/subscribe for any resident. (Free to residents)

@boffer wrote:A septic field is part of an on-site sewage treatment process. Instead of your house sewer water disappearing into local government's pipes to be treated miles away at a waste water treatment facility, your house waste water goes into a septic tank, to let the solids settle, then the liquid overflow goes to (in its simplest form) a septic field where it drains into and through the natural soil and is 'cleaned' before it finds its way into underground water passages.

In recent years local health departments have become quite stringent about the draining abilities of existing soils. They've devised standards and tests to determine drainage abilities of on-site soils.

For example: they say my soil sucks. Therefore, I had to have 240 cubic yards of specially graded sand delivered to my place, to be put in a pile 6 feet tall and having a footprint of 30x110 feet. That is my 'drainfield'. The efflulent has to be pumped to the top of the sand pile in order to drain down through.

Oh, the joys of living in the sticks!

Mine has sand, gravel and drain pipes running in and over the hauled in sand and I have to pay a yearly fee of $50 to the country for an inspection. But according to Erma Bombeck's book of the same title "THE GRASS IS ALWAY GREENER OVER THE SEPTIC TANK". As it happens it is warmer over the tank (snow melts there first) and I am thinking about putting my mini plastic green house over the tank with a 2x4 and a 1x4 bed inside for the fall. Thinking lettuce, spinach, chard and such.

So far I have mown the "lawn" once this summer. I have not fed it, and I have not watered it so it has hardly grown. It is a fine mixture of moss, clover, and some daisy-like plants which I thought would look pretty in the border - they did until they self-seeded.

I am happy to say that I do not waste my drinking water on the lawn. We have T-storms every few days here. Throughout this heatwave we have had in the Midwest, I have only had to water my garden once. Yes, ONCE! HUMIDITY!!! This is my hair: Heat index will be 110+ by the end of the weekend, and we are in a flood warning. I keep hoping the heat will kill my lawn and then I have an excuse to put in more boxes, but the rain won't let it die! Happy to say that people do use their front lawns here - lots of tables and chairs out front to sit and enjoy the summer - between showers, that is!

Thank goodness I don't belong to an HOA and I can allow my "lawn" to become a lovely golden colour. A few of my neighbours think like me so I do have company to support me. Also my lawn does get more shade being on the northern side of a mountain.

Some of my neighbours literally drown their lawns (plus the roadside) nearly every day yet when they stop for a few days visiting family, their lawns soon show signs of stress while mine and my neighbour's hold up rather well.

In some ways I am looking forward to having water meters installed, then those that use so much water will pay their fair share. Being low-income senior I should perhaps save a little so that I can spend it on another SFG box.

@shannon1 wrote:I have only one thing to say. Kick that grass habit! There are so many other ground covers to choose from if that is the look you'er going for.

I just spent a few days with my sister and her family in a little town called Helena, AL and was having an interesting conversation with her and her husband about front lawns. All the lawns in her neighborhood are beautiful (don't think there's a homeowner's association - they just all apparently like their showpiece front lawns in the south) - I would swear her neighbor's yard could be used as a putting green. The funny thing is, my sister and I both grew up in a non-HOA neighborhood in Delaware, with parents who had neither the money, time, or inclination to obsess about their lawn. The two of us were laughing at her husband for being so concerned about his front lawn being beautiful while in the mean time, they can't grow much of anything in the back yard where the kids play, and thus they track in mud all the time!

I'm trying to convince my sister to try the SFG method. She's had a row garden in the one place in her yard where she can put it (hubby says no to the front yard, and the back is too shady). I totally think she could do it on the cheap once the Mel's Mix is put together - the area is already sectioned off from the rest of the yard so she wouldn't really need to build frames, and she could just use string or something to mark out the square feet. She mentioned she thinks she needs to give her soil a rest by planting something other than the peppers and tomatoes she and her family love so much - but if she went SFG that wouldn't be an issue! Argh - so stubborn.

don't think there's a homeowner's association - they just all apparently like their showpiece front lawns in the south

I'm from the south and I have to say that my "front lawn" (such as it is) just pretty much has to fend for itself. I've never been overly concerned with it and would not poison the earth by using massive amounts of chemicals on my lawn just to try to keep up with the neighbors.

Southerners are just as individualistic as any other region in the country and I doubt that there's anything at all that we could agree that we "all apparently like" - except perhaps actually living in the south.